This is Keira in her new Fold Top - a beautiful, stylish garment made by Alison from very fine, soft wool fabric in charcoal grey. I'm a bit jealous of Keira as I wouldn't mind one of these myself. It's a generous, loose fit and I love it.
(The packaging was pretty special, too.) Thank you, Alison.
This is one of my favourite 2nd-hand book finds ever, 'A Sketchbook of New Zealand Birds' by Molly Falla (1966). Its layout and cover feel like a genuine sketchbook, and there are a few loose, original sketches on cardstock by the artist tucked inside too. Most of the birds are native to NZ, and they're often perched on native plants, too. Molly's love for them comes through in her writing- there are lots of anecdotes about different birds she found in her garden or nursed after injury.
I like the watercolours done on brown paper like this one, of little wax-eyes perched on a rata branch...
my favourite bird- the tui, shown here on some kaka beak:
and this is a bellbird, on a kowhai tree:
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Anna gave me this vintage embroidered tablecloth. It's so wonderful to see some NZ-specific embroidery being done on linen- it's a rare thing, I tell you! Two corners of the cloth have both kaka beak and kowhai flowers stitched on, with the distinctive fern-like leaves. How could I not make some shoes from it?
I did a little shop update today- just baby stuff...
...but I have some things for grown-ups which I plan to add over the next few days. Hope you have a lovely weekend- see you next week!